


What. Is. This.

by BandraK



Category: Wicked - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, Not really Musical or Book verse, Shiz Era, Somewhere in between, Well it is now, fluff-y angst, that's a thing right?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-19
Updated: 2015-05-19
Packaged: 2018-03-31 08:48:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3971572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BandraK/pseuds/BandraK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Galinda has many qualities that people find attractive, both physically and mentally, and among those qualities is her imagination. </p><p>But Elphaba, her roommate, isn't one of those people that admire Galinda's flights of fancy and when she finds one of Galinda's doodles depicting one such Fancy in particular, it may end in Galinda flying out the window without so much as a broom or bubble to soften her landing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What. Is. This.

"What. Is. This?"

"What is wha-" Galinda started to ask, her roommates segmented delivery of her question registering with the blonde a half second before her focus shifted from her own reflection to that of Elphaba's back; the corner of a once crumpled piece of paper just visible over the munchkin's shoulder.

"-Nothing!" Galinda cried, practically tripping over her own feet in her haste to reach Elphaba and snatch the potentially life-threatening page from the other woman. "Mine. It's mine." She added, her eyes avoiding the pair fixed on her as reached for the paper.

"Which is it?" Elphaba asked, easily keeping the page from the shorter girl. "Nothing, or yours."

"Mine, you mean green thing" Galinda scowled, still avoiding Elphaba's eyes as she gave a hop in hopes of reaching the page only to fall back to her feet empty handed.

Elphaba's held her arm straight over her head, keeping the page well out of her roommates grasp, and leaned forward to place her face directly in front of Galinda's. "Are you sure that's your final answer?"

Galinda felt a tremor run along her spine. Not sure if it was the invasion of her personal bubble, the warmth of the other woman's breath against her cheek, or the chill in Elphaba's voice at fault, she crossed her arms under her considerably well endowed chest to hide the effect her roommate had on her -- whatever the cause.

"Well." Came the equally cold follow up after several seconds of silence passed between what little distance separated the pair.

Galinda was half tempted to turn her back on the other woman and leave their room and she might have if not for the twin fears of what Elphaba might do to her belongings in her absence and more importantly, what Elphaba would do to her if she tried. Not that the other woman had ever been violent to her in the past or in general. Really sarcastic, yes. And rude, no doubt about it. And insufferably superior in everything she did that didn't revolve around a social life -- including not lording it over Galinda every time the blonde returned from class with a score that could, at best, be termed dismal even by Galinda's perpetually optimistic standards. 

But this time... This was different. Oh why hadn't she thrown the damn thing out instead of hastily balling it up and tossing it under her bed at the first sound of someone walking past their room. Or better yet, why hadn't she just magicked it into the nothing she'd first claimed it to be. 

Although, given her a fore mentioned class scores, she'd have probably managed to send half their furniture into nothingness along with it. And given her seeming lack of luck at the moment, she'd have had to get Elphaba to help her undo the spell and they'd be in the same spot they were now only with the high and mighty Miss Thropp having one more reason to look down her verdant nose at her.

No, running away wouldn't solve anything. The only way through this was to go on the offensive. If nothing else, she might infuriate the green bean enough the Elphaba would be the one to run away to her precious dusty old library and give Galinda both time and space to think up a way out of this mess with her dignity and shoe collection intact. 

"I- you shouldn't have been snooping!"

"Excuse me?" Elphaba straightened her back, the hand holding the source of the snooping charge against her lowered slightly. 

"Apology accepted." Galinda replied back, a small, self-satisfied grin on her lips celebrating her own cleverness. 

Elphaba blinked. "Apolo-" she mumbled before rallying back. "I was not apologizing. If anyone shou-"

"Too late. No take-backsies."

"There is nothing to take back!" Elphaba snapped. "I never apologized to begin with nor do I have any intention of doing so. Though I expect one from you after you explain this." She punctuated the last word by shaking the page in front of Galinda's face before snatching it out of the other woman's reach before she could grab it. 

The smile on her lips faded until her bottom lip pressed out in a pout. A sniffle briefly wrinkled Galinda's nose. She should have known better than to try going on the offensive. No one was more offensive than Elphaba Thropp.

Elphaba's brow furrowed as she continued to stare down the other woman. 

Galinda's extended lip trembled. 

"Oh for Oz sake" Elphaba sighed as she folded her arms over her considerably less well endowed chest. Her free hand rubbed the wrinkles from her forehead as she let out another sigh. "Galinda," she said, a hint of patience if not warmth in her voice, "all I want is an explanation."

Another sniffle. 

"Galinda?"

"Say you're not mad."

"Well that would rather depend on your explanation." Elphaba said automatically. Her brow furrowing a little more at the hurt frown that her comment earned her. Her thin lips nearly disappeared as she pulled them over her teeth. "How about this, so long as your explanation answers my question and that answer contains nothing particularly upsetting, I promise I will not lose my temper. Will that do?"

Galinda tapped her chin in thought. "Pinky promise?"

Elphaba stared at Galinda for several seconds before saying, "I have no idea what that means."

"How can you-?" Galinda began before remembering who she was talking to. "Okay, it's really easy. First you kiss the tip of your pinky finger, like this." She paused long enough to demonstrate the step then waited for Elphaba to copy her -- which the other woman did only after Galinda pointedly raised her eyebrows. "Okay, good. And then you cross it over your heart," she nodded at Elphaba, a smile cracking her lips as she watched the normally serious woman awkwardly make her way through the childhood gesture. "And now you say 'Cross my heart and hope to cry, by this promise I'll abide.' "

Elphaba's left eyebrow rose skeptically but before she could protest Galinda tapped her foot impatiently. "Promise."

"Fine, if it will get me an answer I'll say your little rhyme but crying seems like a very weak incentive to keep an oath. Even with the concerns over my allergy taken into account"

"Oh." Galinda's mouth formed a perfect circle as realization dawned across her face. "I didn't- you don't-"

"Perhaps in the future you'll think before you make demands." Elphaba cut her off, he ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth"

"No, Elph-"

"Cross my heart and hope to cry,"

"Elphie, stop."

"By this promise I'll abide."

"You horrible green thing, you." Galinda grumbled, once again avoiding the other woman's gaze. 

"Yes." Elphaba agreed, then ran her free hand over the page to smooth out the few wrinkles reintroduced by her grip before she held it out towards the smaller woman. "Now, I've kept up my end of our agreement, it's time you did the same. 

A huff of air disturbed the golden curls hiding her face before Galinda took the page from Elphaba and stared at the contents for several heartbeats. "It's not what you think."

"I imagine that would be rather easy as I don't know what to think."

"Elpha-"

"Just tell me what it is."

Galinda's chest expanded as she took a slow, deep breath. "It's... You."

When Elphaba failed to comment, Galinda ruffled the page in her hands and ran her eyes over the lines of her sketch again, her insides doing an unpleasant shuffle as she took in the one key detail that she knew she needed to explain. 

In a voice barely above a whisper, and with eyes closed -- not that that stopped the offending image from filling her mind's eye -- pressed on. "It's you... If you were... Normal."

"I see."

"Oh Elphie," Galinda opened her eyes and turned her face towards her roommate,"Elphie I didn't mean it like that. I don't mean it like that. I promise. I pinky promise, see."

Galinda's finger never reached her lip, her hands stilled by Elphaba's as she took a gentle but firm hold of Galinda's wrists. "Please, Elphie?" She begged, desperation edging her voice as Elphaba looked away. "Please let me promise."

"No."

"But-"

"No, Galinda. You gave me your answer and that is all I wanted."

"But it's not-" Galinda's protest died on her lips as Elphaba released her and took a step back. Her eyes dropped to the pale, alien girl on the page in her hand and she growled. "I'll prove it." She growled, the sheet twisted between her hands as she made to tear it to shreds. 

"Don't!"

"Why not?"

"Because I want it." Elphaba said, once again taking hold of Galinda, this time to gently pry the page from the blonde's grasp. 

"But why?"

"To remind me." Elphaba said as she carefully smoothed the page of wrinkles again."

"That I'm horrible?"

Elphaba folded the page in half with painstaking precision, then in half again. "That makes two of us."

"That's not funny!"

"And I've never been accused of having a sense of humour. It would seem not even your powers of imagination can change me that much."

"Elphaba Thropp!" Galinda cursed, her regret rapidly giving way to anger. "So help me, if you don't-"

"Why?"

The question, soft in both tone and volume, caused Galinda's rising ire to stumble. "What?"

"Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to answer a question with a question? Honestly, people will think you were born green."

An angry stomp accompanied the frustrated cry Galinda gave. "You are impossible!"

"So I've been told, and yet here I am and still awaiting an answer."

"To what?"

"To why, actually?"

"Why what?"

"You're a smart girl, or at least smarter than you give yourself credit for. I'm sure you can figure it out." Elphaba said as she tapped a folded edge of Galinda's sketch against the sharp point of her chin. 

As usual, Elphaba was right and Galinda knew what the taller woman meant but she wasn't sure she wanted to give her infuriating roommate the satisfaction of an answer. Especially given what that answer was.

Elphaba crossed over to her bookcase and pulled a book seemingly at random off a shelf then tucked the sketch between its pages and placed both back. "Or I could be wrong."

"Because I was curious, alright." The words left Galinda's mouth before she had time to stop them

"Do tell" Elphaba slipped her hands behind her back as she leaned against the bookcase. 

"You are being-"

"Curious. And I'm sure that, given the situation, you'll agree that the best way to satisfy one's curiosity is to seek out the source of it.

"I loathe you." Galinda crossed her arms over her chest and stormed to her bedside, making a point to keep her back to Elphaba the entire time. 

"And is that the source of your curiosity? It seems a bit at odds with your actions."

"I'm not talking to you."

"Yes you are. And the sooner you stop acting like a child and answer my question, the sooner you can stop talking to me."

This time it was a growl that joined the stomp of Galinda's foot. "Why can't you ever just let things be?"

"Because 'things' so rarely give me the same courtesy." Elphaba fired back "And that's how easy it is to answer a question." 

"Fine!" Galinda spun around on her heels to glare at the unperturbed Elphaba. "I was curious what you'd look like if you weren't a horrible, mean, wicked green thing that exists solely to torment me. Happy?" 

Elphaba watched Galinda's shoulders rise and fall in time with each anger weighted breath until the motion all but stilled. 

"Almost."

"Sweet Lurline, give me strength!" Galinda prayed towards the ceiling before turning her eyes back to Elphaba. "What? What else do you need?"

"Your opinion of a de-green-ified me."

It was the glance away that did it. Elphaba tried to play it off as disinterest but months of living together had trained Galinda to recognize Elphaba's gestures better than either of them had realized. This wasn't just Elphaba being difficult or trying to punish her without violating her pinky swear, Elphaba cared about the answer. 

The shock of it silenced Galinda for several seconds. Long enough for Elphaba to start picking at the worn seam of her tragically unfashionable frock in feigned interest. 

"Perhaps-"

"I didn't like it."

Elphaba's fingers stilled, her tongue, oddly pink given her overall hue -- the very disparity that had first put the thought in Galinda's head -- flicked across her lips but that was the extent of her reaction. 

"I prefer you like this, actually."

"Horrible, mean, wicked... and green?"

"Yes."

Elphaba's fingernail gave the seem one last scrap before she pushed away from her bookcase. "How convenient for the both of us." She tossed over her shoulder as she sat at her desk then started leafing through one of her many textbooks.

Galinda's gaze flicked briefly to the book that stuck out just a little more than its brothers and sisters on its shelf then back to Elphaba. "Yes, very." She headed back to her own desk and had only just settled into her seat when Elphaba spoke again.

"Now, if you can only explain why I was nude."

**Author's Note:**

> My first (and so far only) Wicked/Gelphie fic. Inspired in part by Mcelphie's epic Gelphie opus over on ff.net If you haven't read it yet, you should. Just be warned, it's a loooooooong read. 
> 
> I'm rather pleased with how this turned out and I hope at least some of you are as well.


End file.
